music rights in 2005

I only ask this because I know music rights are what is keeping Cold Case, a show still running, from DVD.

I am getting into the new WB series "Supernatural". However, in the two episodes thus far, there has been a number of classic rock songs from Foreigner, AC/DC and Rush played (it's established that the older brother Dean is a fan of classic rock). Considering the prevalence of TV-DVD's these days, are Warner smart enough to go ahead and clear out music rights for DVD as soon as the episode is produced nowadays, or will they make another mistake ala Cold Case by jeopardizing DVD releases by not making the assumption the show would get enough of a following that would buy the show? Since it's 2005 and it's a 1 hr WB series (since almost all of the WB shows are on DVD), are Warner taking the right measures and clearing the songs or are they setting us up for another WKRP/Wonder Years/Cold Case?

Since most (successful) WB dramas produced by Warner Bros. Television seem to get at least one box set (Smallville, Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, Everwood), I would think that they've secured everything for a DVD release.

See, I don't know if you can really categorize not nailing down all the music for Cold Case as a "mistake" - you've got something like two months between starting a script and airing the show, and the music for Cold Case is pretty darn crucial. If all you can secure within the production budget is the broadcast rights in that time period, you take it, and let the home video department worry about getting the rights for the DVD.

The music on Supernatural is familiar, but relatively generic; during production, the producers probably have a little more leverage with the rights-holders in terms of "we'll get a different song if you want to be a pain".

Jay's Movie Blog - A movie-viewing diary.Transplanted Life: Sci-fi soap opera about a man placed in a new body, updated two or three times a week.Trading Post Inn - Another gender-bending soap, with different collaborators writing different points of view.

well, it seemed kinda odd that Cold Case went into production in the fall of 2003, after TV-DVD's started becoming established, yet Warner Bros. didn't go ahead and nail the music rights down for further releases. Remember during the Warner chat, they said music rights were holding the show back from DVD. The show came out at a time when shows like Smallville, CSI, etc... were already coming out on DVD. You'd think as soon as Warner realized it was a ratings hit, they would've started securing music rights for each successive episodes because they would've figured out that the potential of the show selling well on DVD would be a reality.

Not necessarily. Just because something is a ratings hit doesn't mean it will necessarily translate into massive DVD sales. Just look at the number of cult-following shows with massive DVD sales for proof. Ratings and sales aren't codependent factors. Also, the music rights for the songs might just be that the sheer number of songs amounts to what would end up being a higher price per set than they think would sell.

You write as though WB just had to say "we want the rights" to get them. In these transactions there is a seller as well as a buyer. If the producers insist they need a song for a given episode and the seller will only part with the broadcast rights, the studio has to choose between meeting the artistic requirements of the follks they pay to be creative right now and satisfying fans of a hypothetical DVD release a year or two down the road, assuming it happens at all. There is nothing "odd" about WB being able to make a deal with all the artists involved in some shows (Smallville, CSI) being able to make the deal with only some or none on other shows (Cold Case) The calendar has nothing to do with it, the material in question and the attitude of the rights holders is key. Also maybe the Smallville producers were more flexible than the folks from Cold Case. Maybe at production time WB said, "Look, we can get the song you asked for - broadcast only - or we can get this other song that was also popular and has a similar feel for broadcast and DVD, your choice."

I caught the new NBC show My Name Is Earl last night and I was immediately hooked. If the quality of writing stays at the level it was at for the pilot, this a show I intend to watch (there hasn't been a show that I've watched regularly since Drew Carey).

Anyways - judging by the pilot episode, it looks like music will be an important componant of the series (the soundtrack often fits the situation on screen). I know a DVD release will probably happen next Summer, but I'm concerned about them securing the rights to music included in the show's soundtrack. I know "It Takes Two" by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock will be there since it's mentioned by name - at least 2 times in the pilot (and I suspect that it might be a running gag throughout the series), but what about everything else?

I know it's something that probably can't be answered until a DVD set is announce. I'm just thinking out loud.

Yeah, but one show is Cold Case and one is One Tree Hill. The former is using well-known, established hits from artists WB may or may not have a relationship with, while the latter is likely using recent music from less-established bands which are probably signed with a WB label. It's probably easier to sign a favorable deal with the One Tree Hill musicians than the Cold Case ones.

And, again, I wouldn't doubt that Cold Case has song titles in the script that the music people have to worry about at least getting broadcast rights for the specific song and worry about video later, while most other shows have the luxury of choosing one track or another, in part because of what rights are available.

Jay's Movie Blog - A movie-viewing diary.Transplanted Life: Sci-fi soap opera about a man placed in a new body, updated two or three times a week.Trading Post Inn - Another gender-bending soap, with different collaborators writing different points of view.

I know in the case of Smallville the Home Video division actually helped fund the show's pilot... so there was always a synergy between video and what's on TV, so I'd bet the music rights were sorted at that time.